Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential
effect of 6-minute walking distance (6MWD) on exercise tolerance in
patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). To clarify whether 6WMD and
right ventricle (RV) function measured by three-dimensional
echocardiography (3D-echo) could result in better correlation with
exercise capacity. Methods: 72 consecutive patients underwent right
heart catheterization (RHC) and diagnosed with PH. Associations between
6WMD and measures of RV function were evaluated using the Pearson
correlation coefficient. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve
analysis was applied to evaluate the clinical prognosis of patients.
Results: RHC-derived parameters were significantly correlated with 6MWD:
(RPVR = -0.719, RPAPs = -0.501, RPAPd = -0.404, and RPAPm = -0.468, all
P <0.001). Meanwhile, 6MWD was positively correlated with CO
(R = 0.54, P <0.001). Good correlations between 6MWD with
3D-echo parameters were shown as follows: R3D-RVEDV = -0.584, R3D-RVESV
= -0.598, R3D-RVEF = 0.554, R3D-RV mass = -0.507, all P
<0.001. The predictive value from 6MWD was not much inferior
to the predictive values of PVR (AUC6MWD = 0.779 vs. AUCPVR = 0.875,
both P <0.0001). Conclusions: 6MWD has a significant
correlation with hemodynamic parameters obtained by RHC. And RV function
obtained by 3D-echo result in better correlation with exercise capacity.
3D-echo might be candidate for RHC to assess right heart function in
patients with PH.
258 Right heart wall motion and volume analysis in severe chronic pulmonary hypertension using realtime three dimensional echocardiography compared to MR imaging